Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to implantable hearing prosthesis, and more particularly, to an integrity testing system in an implantable hearing prosthesis.
Related Art
Implantable hearing prostheses include implantable hearing aids, cochlear implants, optically stimulating implants, middle ear stimulators, bone conduction devices, brain stem implants, direct acoustic cochlear stimulators, electro-acoustic devices and other devices providing acoustic, mechanical, optical, and/or electrical stimulation to an element of a recipient's ear. Such devices are subject to failure or malfunctions due to, for example, manufacturing defects, degradation of materials over time or changes in the recipient's inner-ear function. If an issue is reported with a conventional implantable hearing prosthesis, an appointment is required with a health care professional, referred to herein as clinician, at a clinic where a number of tests are carried out to test the integrity of the prosthesis, and to determine the source of the failure. These tests are performed using specialist integrity testing equipment, and are performed in a reactive manner. That is, such testing is only performed after a recipient or user has indicated that there may be a problem with the hearing prosthesis, such as a decrease in hearing performance or other non-auditory symptoms that reduce device effectiveness.
The clinician who performs such testing is generally a specialist who is trained to use specialized integrity testing equipment. As such, the testing is generally expensive and time-consuming procedure for all involved. Furthermore, because device problems may be intermittent, the test results may be inconclusive, provide a false positive (false conclusion that the device is working correctly), and/or require subsequent additional follow-up testing to determine the nature of the problem.